14. Mag Earwhig! (1997)

If Guided By Voices albums were Bond movies, this would be On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, a strange departure bearing little resemblance to any other entry, and yet one that succeeds on a number of levels. Following Guided By Voices’ classic string of albums in the ’90s, a consecutive series of greatness that could stand beside flawless runs by bands like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, the band dissolved. But Pollard kept the GBV name and recruited Cleveland rockers Cobra Verde for the excellent Mag Earwhig! The result is the band’s most hi-def, studio-polished album to date. But while the album’s best song, “I Am A Tree” was written by Cobra Verde’s Doug Gillard, Pollard still carried some of the golden mid-’90s songwriting touch, which breaks through the album’s bright, glam-rock conventions. In that sense, Mag Earwhig! is one of Guided By Voices’ most important albums, proving that Pollard’s songs didn’t need to rely on lo-fi charm to be appreciated. (Incidentally, this marks the point in the list where we go from “Advanced GBV Studies” to “Albums Every Fan Should Know.”)